Stoll my heart? I don't think so!
by booklover2341
Summary: Becoming the offspring of a god definitely doesn't fit into Katie Gardner's senior year plan. Introduce Travis Stoll, a bizarre new exchange student who claims that Katie is the daughter of a Greek deity. The goddess of Spring, Demeter. He's cocky, contemptuous, and…incredibly cute. Katie's senior year is about to take a whole new, unplanned twist.
1. Chapter 1

The whole nightmare started on the worst season of the year.

Snow dusted the looming trees and grassy paddocks, and the road was coated in a slippery layer of frost.

I pulled up the hood of my parka to cover my head, but it kept slipping back, literally inviting the wind to turn me into a Popsicle.

Snow crunched under my feet, melting into icy liquid, dribbling into my shoes, and numbing my feet.

The lake had frozen over, and was now open for skating. Honestly, I didn't have the slightest clue why falling on your face and being rewarded by bruises and frostbite was so fun.

To say I despised winter would be putting it lightly. I absolutely abhorred it with my entire being.

The temperature outside made me want to crawl into the kitchen freezer for warmth.

And having to wake up so early in the morning, where the temperature made it feel like you were being dipped into the Arctic Ocean, should be illegal!

And that wasn't just it. There was something…formidable and ominous to the bitter season.

Like, call me crazy, but almost as if something bad had caused it.

And I agree that isn't the most sane of reasons for someone to despise Winter so much.

But accompanied with the sub-zero wind, and dying life everywhere, it definitely wasn't much of a treat for me.

I was standing next to the bus shelter, since the bench was crusted in a thin layer of sleet, and the last thing I needed was to get my clothes wet.

The road was completely desolate save for an unruly lolly wrapper with the words _'Berry Blast' _printed on the wrapper, and a comical picture of a raspberry with a fiery tail.

Like every day of every year, I was five minutes early, as I waited for the bus, spending my spare time fantasizing over which plants I would buy with the money mom and dad managed to fork out, come spring.

I could almost smell the buttercups…A sudden prickly sensation on the back of my neck made the daydream vanish like smoke.

I slowly turned, trying to be discreet as I scanned the horizon for the source of my discomfort.

There, my gaze locked onto the solitary figure, half-hidden by the bare tree branches.

This far I couldn't make out any details, except for the fact that he seemed to be hovering above the ground, or maybe I was just hallucinating.

I had woken up unnaturally early today since one of the lambs was having trouble adjusting.

He was barely visible, mostly concealed by the tree's twisted limbs and shadows. But just enough to be seen…

He shifted slightly as if he was aware that I'd seen him, and was making up his mind to go away or come closer.

I whipped my head towards the road, mentally urging the bus to make an appearance.

But the blacktop remained hopelessly isolated.

Suddenly I was acutely aware of how vulnerable I was.

'_Why didn't I drive to school? Probably because the only spare vehicle on our farm was a tractor, and Mom and Dad refused to buy me a car. Oh, that's right! I hope they felt guilty when the newspaper asked for my picture. Oh, god. I hope they didn't give them my junior social picture, oh no, maybe I should've given them a good one before I left home. But, I never knew this was going to happen…'_

In the few moments I'd spent fretting the guy really had taken a step towards me. I froze, like a deer trapped in headlights.

There was only one thing left to do. I sent a silent prayer to god, and slipped off my bag, holding it out in front of me threateningly.

Well as threateningly as I could. If I was going to go down, I would go down fighting.

A loud guttural sound broke through the heavy silence, and my heart gave a leap as the bus crested down the road.

The guy had stopped walking and was staring at me, arms crossed over his chest. I had the sudden urge to poke out my tongue at him, but resisted.

The doors hissed open, and the strong musty smell hit me as I climbed aboard.

I had never before been so grateful, I beamed at the groggy, pot-belied driver who gave me a questioning glance in return, and settled down amongst my sleep-deprived classmates.

**SO WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Lou, how was the camp? Oh, it was great, _thanks for asking Katie, supposedly best friend!" _

I jerked upright as my best friend, Lou Ellen flitted an impatient hand in front of my face, narrowly missing my nose.

"What is up with you?" she asked, seeming slightly annoyed. "You're not even _listening _to me."

She crossed her arms across her chest, and raised an eyebrow, clenching her jaw tightly.

Okay, maybe I'd misjudged her mood a bit. Or a lot. I sighed. "How was camp?"

She gave me a deadpan expression. "You could at-least _pretend _to be interested. Or is that too much of a burden for you?"

I gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, I'm not purposely ignoring you, it's just…" I bit my lip, wondering whether Lou would have me put into a mental asylum if I told her the truth.

I mean, I personally was having trouble believing what I'd seen. I couldn't expect her to believe me, if I didn't believe what I'd physically seen only half an hour ago.

I decided to take the risk. Because if my best friend wasn't going to believe me, who was?

I'd seen enough movies to know if I told my parents they'd send me to a psychiatrist.

"It's just, there's a lot on my mind at the moment…" I began meekly, I could still back out.

"I saw a flying guy." There, it was out there. Now, the waiting part.

Lou leaned forward eagerly, previous sulking behaviour gone. "What, as in a film shoot? Was he hot?"

I cringed. This was going to be slightly more difficult than I'd previously thought.

"Uh, no…Actually it wasn't really flying, just hovering a bit. At-least I'm pretty sure he was…" I trailed off.

"Uh, I couldn't care less if he was swimming through the ground Katie. Tell me, was he good-looking?"

I scoffed derisively. "Firstly, I couldn't make out his features because he was too far away, plus I was too busy panicking about my death, AND THE FACT THAT HE COULD FLY!"

"So he wasn't hot?" "YOU'RE TOTALLY MISSING THE FREAKIN' POINT!" I screeched, capturing some un-wanted attention from my class-mates.

I gave a quick smile, and turned back to Lou. "Look," I hissed, lowering my voice. "Could you just listen to me for a moment?"

I ran a hand through my hair, and gave a quick glance around the room to make sure no one was eaves-dropping.

"There may be a creepy axe-murderer stalking me, and possibly aiming to murder me. So if we could just look past his appearance for the time being."

Lou Ellen gave an uncertain nod. Great, I hadn't even finished and she was already doubting me.

"And, he was flying! As in real life super-man flying!" "Super-man isn't real." Pointed out Lou unhelpfully.

I gave an exaggerated sigh. "The _point _is…"I was cut by Mrs William, who finally decided that it was time to start the lesson.

"This is not over!" I hissed, before bending around in my seat.

"Okay, class," Mrs William pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose. "This year is going to be so exciting."

"I'm sure you'll find Greek culture just as fascinating as I do once you get a proper insight," she said, bubbling with enthusiasm, as she handed out the list sheets.

"And also, I'm sending around a seating plan, make sure to write your first and last name please."

I gave a quick glance around. I was in relatively good territory.

Sandwiched between Lou, and Molly Good-burn, the school's computer geek who was also super-nice. So no problems there.

And despite the downfall of having to share a class with Elody Kingston A-class bitch, there's one in every school, at-least she was sitting nowhere near me.

Honestly, the injudicious myth that claimed popularity was accompanied with arrogance and stupidity was only halfway correct.

Sure the popular kids were pretty conceited, but as for the dumb part? Completely false! Not to mention how determined they were!

The proof was right here, sitting a few desks away from me, and currently texting on her very-expensive looking phone.

It'd probably take all my years' savings to afford that phone, I thought eyeing her enviously.

I craned my head trying to glimpse how far the paper was.

Jack Kinsley sneered at Lou, waving the piece of paper in the air. "How'd you get in this class, have a one night stand with some rich guy?"

Lou visibly bristled. God, I'd totally forgotten about him. Jack had an efficiency to pick on Lou every possible minute.

He'd probably be ready with a snarky comment every time he needed to pass something over.

Honestly, it's like the guy lived to piss Lou off. I squinted closely and gasped when I saw the word Slut scrawled messily in the spot Lou was sitting in.

This added detail didn't go un-noticed by Lou, who sat fuming silently at Jack, and I knew she was trying to think up a good come-back.

Lou leaned forward slightly, "At-least someone would actually be interested in me," she was smiling, but her voice held an unmistakable threat to it.

"But you," she scoffed scathingly. "A pig would rather walk straight to the slaughterhouse than even look at you."

I snorted, as colour flooded Jack's face. "Thank you," she jeered, snatching the paper out of Jack's hand.

She passed it onto me, and I gave her a smirk. _'Niiiiice.' _I mouthed.

She gave me a flippant smile in return, but I could tell she was pleased.

I fished through my bag, searching for my favourite pen, growing increasingly panicked as my bag remained hopelessly devoid of any stationary.

'_Seriously' _I muttered under my breath, swallowing hard and contemplating whether to empty out the contents of my bag onto my desk or continue my futile search.

Someone cleared their throat near me. "Uh, excuse me. Do you need a pen?"

It was a guy's voice, and though the question was perfectly ordinary his voice held an unmistakable playfulness to it, as if he was in on a joke I knew nothing about.

I glanced up towards the owner of the voice, and froze. It was him, the guy I'd seen at the bus stop.

I didn't really recognize his face as his features were quite blurry from so far away, but that was definitely the same shirt, and jeans, and I'm pretty sure his hair was the same shade of brown.

My eyes immediately flicked down to his feet, but they were planted firmly on the ground.

I closed my eyes. _'I was hallucinating! There was no other explanation. But that didn't explain why he was watching me from a distance._

_He could just be waiting for the bus…but no. What kind of creeper stood under a tree a hundred kilometres away from the bus stop? At the crack of dawn!_

I shifted further away from him in my seat, and returned my attention to his face.

In my peripheral vision I saw Lou making exaggerated gestures behind the guy's back, and repeatedly mouthing _'Cute!' _

I scowled at her, then looked back to the guy. Okay, so even if he was cute that didn't mean I wasn't going to be creeped out by what had happened this morning.

Even though he had quite a nice elegant face, angular cheekbones, nice jaw, oh wow and his hair. It looked so soft, and the way it curled at the nape of his neck…

And his body! Wow! He looked like he'd walked right out of some model magazine, because damn, he was fit. Even I couldn't deny that.

My gaze stopped at his eyes, and I gasped. Not because yeah, they were a gorgeous deep blue like a clear summer sky…

Okay, focus. My breath hitched as I realised I'd just been checking a guy out, who I'd met only a few minutes ago.

And who could possibly be a murderer/rapist/lunatic. Talk about messed up.

Not to mention the untrusting vibe emanating off him. And I sure as hell wasn't going to ignore it!

I was about to tell him exactly where he _could _go shove his pen, when I looked at the pen. Like _actually, properly _looked at it.

"How did you get my pen?" I snapped, searching his face, as if that would give me an answer as to how _my _possession had come into hold of this perfect stranger.

His mouth quirked slightly. "Now how on Earth could your pen _possibly _find its way into my possession?" he said, confirming my unspoken thoughts.

"I don't know," I spluttered. "But that is definitely my pen."

It was a nice blue biro that had been gifted to me by my dad. It even had the same patterned ink-spot located just above the tip.

"Really?" grinned the boy, and I knew he knew it was mine. And he was daring me to prove it.

"Yes," I spat, through gritted teeth. "And I'd like it back, please." I made sure to inject some venom into my voice. "Now!"

He lodged a hand on my desk, leaning towards me marginally. "No." I raised an eyebrow. "No?"

I stared at him through narrowed eyes. "What do you mean by 'no'?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "By 'no' I mean, no, I'm not giving _my _pen to you."

"Yes you are," I hissed, but he was already walking away from me, and I watched in horror as he claimed the desk…right behind me.

"Uh, excuse me." I jerked towards the timid voice. "Uh, could I please…?" Molly indicated towards the piece of paper, and I realised I was holding everyone up.

I turned towards Lou who had a quizzical look on her face.

I held out my hand. "Pen," Lou Ellen rolled her eyes, "It's okay, no need for manners," she muttered under her breath, fumbling through her pencil-case.

I snatched it out of her hand. "You're welcome," she murmured dejectedly.

I scribbled on the piece of paper but the pen was bone-dry. I shook it vehemently but it remained stubbornly inkless.

I glared at Lou and literally flung the pen at her. "Thanks for the pen, but it would help if it actually worked."

She gave me a slightly irritated look. "God, what's up with you this morning?"

I ignored her, twisting around in my seat. He was already staring at me, a lopsided grin on his face.

I pointed grudgingly at the pen. "Could I borrow the pen?" "_The_ pen?" He was grinning. Jerk.

I had a feeling he wouldn't give it to me unless I said it. "Could I borrow _your_ pen?"

He beamed. "Sure," he passed it over, and I had to fight the urge to slap that smile off his face.

"Okay, class. Before we start with the day's lesson I'd just like to introduce our new exchange student."

She flicked through a stack of papers, and pulled one out. "Uh, Travis…Stoll?"

Nobody could really care less, but someone thought different.

Behind me the guy snorted softly under his breath, before speaking up. "Uh, no Miss. Actually it's pronounced _'Stole'. _Travis Stoll."

Mrs William gave a flustered smile. "Sorry about that, so it's _Travis Stoll, _okay then. Would you like to come up and introduce yourself?"

"Uh, not particularly no." he stated, earning a couple of stifled laughs from around the class.

I rolled my eyes skyward. Mrs William fixed him with a steely look. "Travis, please come up and tell us all a bit about yourself."

Well, at-least that explained why he was waiting so far away from the bus stop. He probably just didn't know where to go. Yep, that was it.

I felt a flood of relief at the plausible explanation, though I had a nagging feeling I was only trying to convince myself.

I heard a chair scrape against the linoleum before Travis sauntered up to the front of the classroom.

He gave a small wave, an impish smile playing on his lips. "Hey everyone, I'm Travis Stoll. I'm a guy, and I'm standing in this classroom."

Elody let out a small snort, her gaze gave him a once-over and she must've been pleased with what she saw because she gave a small smile.

Mrs William gave a resigned sigh. "Thank you Travis, you can sit back down."

Travis flashed a smile towards Mrs William before ambling back down to his seat.

He gave me a quick wink, to which I responded with a scowl.

He might be able to charm everyone else here, but it wasn't going to work on me.

**HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THAT. I DEFINITELY DID ;) *sigh* I LOVE TRATIE SO MUCH! WELL, I'LL TRY UPDATE SOON. REVIEW TO TELL ME WHAT YOU GUYS THINK! BYEEEEEE :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm telling you Lou," I said urgently, leaning into the car. She shook her head, muttering something that sounded like 'crazy'.

"Fine," I stepped back from her car, folding my arms. "But you'll blame yourself when you find me murdered, possibly even raped and left in some alleyway.

Lying in a pool of my own blood. Remember, _I told you so!"_ "Katie," she began wearily. "The chances of you being stalked in _this _town are about as high as Jack Kinsley growing a brain."

I glared mutinously at her. "Fine," I snapped. "Look," she sighed heavily. "To ease your _worries_ would you like a ride home,"

"Mom's picking me up," I said curtly, before turning on my heel and walking off.

I hadn't realised how much I'd wanted her to follow me until I heard the unmistakable sound of tires on gravel as she drove _away, _I felt my stomach shrink

Suddenly realising how _empty _it was. I fished out my phone form my back pocket, tilting it towards me, so I could see the screen more clearly.

Mom should be here any second now. Hopefully. "Hey," I jerked my head up, squeaking in surprise.

Until I realised who it was, then my surprise morphed into dread, and panic.

I momentarily considered running, before I realised mom was bound to be here soon. Better to play it cool.

I swallowed hard. "Hi." Travis tilted his head. I marvelled at how his eyes sparkled, like a cloudless sky on a summer day.

Then I realized I didn't trust him. _Why not? _Piped up that stupid voice at the back of my mind.

"I didn't catch your name earlier," he said smoothly. Propping himself up onto the school wall, even though it was against the rules.

"I didn't tell you," I snapped. One side of his mouth curved slightly. "No, you didn't."

I looked away, trying to look busy in…what? Studying cloud patterns?

I decided there couldn't be much harm in telling him my name. Maybe I _was _over-reacting.

"Katie Gardner," "Huh?" I rolled my eyes. "My name." He seemed to find this amusing somehow because he laughed.

I whirled around on him. "Something funny?" I hissed. He shook his head, still grinning. "Nope, just seems ironic."

I didn't waste my time trying to figure out what that even meant. After a stifling silence he spoke again.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Katie-Kat." I could hear the smile in his voice, and felt immediately annoyed that he'd already come up with a nickname for me.

"My name is not 'Katie-Kat'" I snapped. He regarded me playfully. "What's wrong with Katie-Kat?"

"I don't like it," I replied bluntly, it felt degrading somehow. Travis grinned. "Katie-Kat, it stays."

Before I could come up with a clever retort, I was interrupted by someone beeping their car horn.

I turned, sliding my bag over my shoulder, and walking towards mom's car.

"Bye Katie-Kat," laughed Travis. "If I see you again it'll be too soon." I muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

I slammed the car door shut on Travis' receding laugher.

"Who's that?" asked mom. Mom and I were the complete opposites. She was all blonde haired, blue eyed, the ideal replica of a Californian beach mom.

Then there was me. Brown haired, green eyed, small. My dad's copyright. Probably because this was my step-mom, though I never called her that.

She was living proof that not all stepmothers were wicked. And I loved her.

"A creep." Mom waved and gave Travis her '_reserved for guests'_ million dollar smile.

Travis waved back enthusiastically, and bounded over.

"Goodness," said Mom. "They just don't make boys like that anymore do they?"

I glared at her, wrinkling my nose in disgust. "Gross, stop it." I slapped the steering wheel. "Hurry up, he's coming."

She gave me a stern glance. "Don't be so rude." _Well, _I _usually _loved her.

"_He's been stalking me_." I screeched. "Nonsense," she replied. "You're probably just mistaking his endearments to wooing you as stalking."

I groaned. "Really? Where'd you get that of?

She rolled down my window, before I had time to stop her. "Hello," she greeted, grinning warmly at him.

He propped his elbows up on the door, leaning into the car. "Hey," he extended a hand towards my mom. "Travis Stoll."

Mom looked at me, giving me a smug smile as if to say _'see, he isn't all that bad' _and shook his hand.

"Very nice to meet you young man, I'm Katie's mother." "Really," he flashed a grin. "You don't look it."

I felt the need to retch. That was _so _cliché. Mom blushed, and giggled. _Yes, giggled! _"Oh, you're too sweet."

She patted him on the arm playfully. I moaned, burying my head in my bag. He chuckled softly.

"I haven't seen you around here before Travis," questioned Mom. I let out another groan of despair.

Of course she had to interrogate him, as if this wasn't already bad enough.

"I'm here on an exchange" he answered politely. I snorted. I wonder how mom would react if she knew he'd stolen my pen.

"Mrs Gardner, I have a question. Is she normally so hostile towards guys in general, or am I just a special case?"

Mom flicked her gaze towards me. I gave her a steely glare, shaking my head almost imperceptibly.

"No," she gushed. "She's probably just taken a special interest in you and is unsure on how to handle those new feelings."

I gaped, completely mortified. Any last shred of dignity I'd hoped to save had gone, vanished.

And I'd thought it'd been bad before.

I wanted to rush to my defence. I would've, but I found that the shock had wiped my brain clean like a slate save for one thing.

Embarrassment, I never think I'd ever been embarrassed my whole life.

"Is that so?" Travis looked to me, and I could tell he was trying to stifle laughter.

"No, no" I spluttered. "She has _no idea _what she's talking about." I exhaled heavily. "I am _not _attracted to you."

I shook my head furiously. "In any way. AT all!" "It's okay," chuckled Travis, and he patted me on the head lightly. I bared my teeth at him but he seemed unfazed.

"Nothing to be ashamed about." "See?" smiled Mom, trying to salvage our relationship.

A sleek, boldly painted Camaro rolled to a stop a few paces away from our car.

Travis looked towards it. "Well, my ride's here. I'll see you round," he said to mom.

"Bye Katie-Kat." He grinned, before strolling off to the Camaro. The driver beeped the horn at him, to which Travis completely ignored.

He opened the door, and the driver took off, almost before he'd completely gotten in. I heard Travis swear, and reach over to smack the driver on the back of the head.

"So," mum smiled. "Katie-Kat?" "Don't. You. Start." I got out through gritted teeth. "I can't believe you _embarrassed _me like that.

Mom's face fell. "Embarrassed you? Darling I thought I was doing you a favour." "Well, stop trying." I screamed like a petulant child.

I settled back into my seat, wrapping my arms rigidly around my bag.

**WELL IT'S NOT THAT GOOD. YET ;) BUT I PROMISE YOU GUYS IT WILL GET BETTER! AND PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS TO ALL YOU GUYS WHO REVIWED FOLLOWED OR FAVORITED. LOVE YOU! :)**


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